Carlos Lee douses injury concerns; Brett Myers frustrated

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A few quick updates from the day game as I hit the road for Viera, Fla. and the night half of the split-squad day against the Nationals:

• Carlos Lee did indeed make a late change from left field to designated hitter because of shoulder soreness, but he downplayed any prolonged health issues.

“It’s just a little fatigue; it’s not like I’m hurt,” Lee said after he came out of the game following three plate apperances.

“We’ve just done a lot of throwing, so I was a little sore today.”

Lee asked manager Brad Mills for a break from fielding, and it came at a fortuitous time as the wind really whipped at Osceola County Stadium and toyed with the fly balls, which were numerous.

Lee went 1-for-3 with an RBI double at the plate, while Jason Michaels saw his first action in left field, having recovered from his back spasms, and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

• Brett Myers sounded a bit disappointed with what was his roughest outing of the spring as he departed an inning short of his targeted four frames.

Myers’ line: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K.

“Trying to locate balls was a little more difficult than usual,” said Myers, who had no concerns about health. “It’s one of those things that you just have to fight through. It kind of irritated me a little bit; I was just trying to throw it as hard as I could at some points, and then in the last inning, I started locating the ball and it was a big difference.”

Myers, at 65 pitches for the afternoon, asked for a fourth inning but was turned down. In part it was because he could face the Red Sox during the year and the Astros didn’t want to give their regulars, who were due up, a third look at him.

• Not to jinx anything, but presumed eighth-inning man Wilton Lopez is still tossing a no-hitter for the spring. He’s allowed no hits and no walks in four innings after his blank sixth inning.

• The Red Sox had four triples on the windy day in a game that devolved into an ugly mess by the end, especially for the Astros, who made three errors. Boston won 9-3.